


Bright Young Things: Story A

by mabtab



Series: Bright Young Things: Totality [2]
Category: ATEEZ (Band), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Centaurs, F/M, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Magic, Rough Sex, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:14:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23075311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mabtab/pseuds/mabtab
Summary: Roughly twenty-five years after the end of the Second Wizarding War, the world is seemingly at peace. However, that is far from the truth. Death Eaters no longer reign, but purebloods still hold power, muggle-born wizards are still seen as second-class citizens, and half-breeds and Dark Creatures are still often reviled.This story is told from the perspective of ATEEZ and is the companion story to Bright Young Things: Story B. While they can be read separately, they are meant to be read together as information and characters are shared between them.
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Kang Yeosang/Original Female Character(s), Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: Bright Young Things: Totality [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1658410
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	1. Mingi

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU combining Hogwarts, BTS, and ATEEZ.
> 
> Characters have been aged up so Hogwarts functions more like a college, and all main characters are of legal age.
> 
> Disclaimer: Credit goes to J.K. Rowling for the world of Harry Potter and to the bands BTS and ATEEZ. While this work draws on real names and an established world, it is purely a work of fiction and has no bearing or basis in the non-fictional world.
> 
> Hope you enjoy and happy reading!

_Mingi_

“FINAL CALL!” THE CONDUCTOR’S voice boomed out across Platform 9 ¾. “Final call aboard the Hogwarts Express!”

Mingi sprinted towards the train doors, shoving his trolley in front of him. “If you had any sense of time,” he panted to his friend next to him, “we wouldn’t be in this fucking mess!”

“Me?” Yunho snorted. “You’re the one who kept repacking twelve different pairs of shoes.”

“Yeah, well, we were at your house so your responsibility,” Mingi retorted.

They shoved their trunks into the luggage carriage and leapt aboard with a sense of victory. Seconds later, the train doors closed behind them. Mingi glared at his friend. “That was way too close,” he gasped.

The train belched white smoke and the conductor blew a whistle. A moment later, the train lurched beneath Mingi’s feet and King’s Cross Station began to slide away from them. Parents waved from the platform with varying expressions of delight at seeing their offspring disappear and first year parent worry. 

Yunho laughed and slapped Mingi on the back. “Let’s go see if the others made it.”

Mingi groaned and slung an arm around Yunho’s shoulders. “Only if you hold me up. I just used all my energy for the week running here.”

Yunho snorted, “You’re a lightweight, Song,” but he slung his arm around Mingi’s waist without hesitation. 

As it turned out, the others had made it. After poking their heads into compartment after compartment and having chocolate frogs thrown at them, they heard a distinctive high-pitched laugh. Mingi and Yunho exchanged a glance. “Well, that’s Wooyoung at least,” Mingi said. 

Yunho dragged him forward. “C’mon, let’s face the music.”

Yunho pulled open the compartment door to find three boys cackling in various stares of disarray. Upon seeing Mingi and Yunho, the boy with lavender hair and mischievous eyes swore and slumped in his seat. The boy next to him with shoulder length black hair and a blond under cut grinned and stuck out his hand. “Pay up, bitch.”

The lavender scowled and a handful of silver sickles exchanged hands.

Mingi looked to the third boy who sat on the opposite side. “What were they betting on?”

The third boy barely looked up from the book he was reading. “You,” he said crisply.

“What did we do?” Yunho asked as he pushed Mingi inside the compartment and shut the door.

Mingi dropped down onto the cushioned seats next to the lavender and poked him. “What was it, Wooyoung?”

Wooyoung fell sideways into San’s lap. “I bet you wouldn’t make it in time,” he said lazily. “San bet you would.”

Mingi exchanged a look with Yunho. “We need new friends.”

“Too late, goblins, you’re stuck with us.” Wooyoung’s laugh turned into a squawk as San pinched him.

They began to tussle, San’s tall lean frame well matched with Wooyoung’s shorter more muscular one. Mingi ignored them with the ease of long practice.

“Where are Hongjoong and Seonghwa?” Yunho asked from the seat he’d taken next to the reading Yeosang.

Yeosang finally closed his book and looked up. He wasn’t really that studious, but Mingi guessed that he’d just been looking for an excuse to ignore Wooyoung and San’s squawking. “Smooching with the prefects,” Yeosang said. “Apparently, there’s going to be a big announcement at the feast tonight and everyone’s trying to figure out what it is.” He pushed his blond hair away from his face. He hadn’t cut it over the summer and it was now past his years, but Mingi thought it looked good. 

“Rumor has it only the prefects and the Head Boy and Girl know what it is,” San added.

Somewhere in the last thirty seconds, they’d stopped fighting and now Wooyoung half lay in San’s lap. San ran his hands through Wooyoung’s hair, and if Wooyoung were a cat he’d be purring. Mingi’s friends were disgusting. Adorable, but mostly disgusting.

Mingi avoided Yunho’s gaze.

The five of them were all the same age at nineteen and all second years, or soon to be. They’d met last year and despite coming from different houses, they’d quickly become inseparable. Mingi was in Hufflepuff along with Yunho, and everyone said they were like oversized puppies. It was kind of hilarious in an ironic way. San and Yeosang were in Slytherin, which made complete sense to Mingi. Yeosang had the sharpest tongue and no conscience, and San, despite his laughter, was one of the most ambitious, driven, hardworking people Mingi knew. And Wooyoung was in Gryffindor because he was a brat.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa joined them later, after they’d gotten well out of London and were belching their way through the rolling hills of the English countryside. The two piled into the compartment together and were immediately pounced on by the others.

“They live!” Wooyoung yelled.

“What did you find out?” San asked.

Hongjoong, a tiny Ravenclaw with a quirky blond mullet that did nothing to soften his sharp expression slumped in the seat he’d taken next to Yunho. “Nothing,” he grumbled. “None of the prefects would say anything. Smug bastards.”

“I tried to corner Jin,” Seonghwa added. “We’re supposed to be friends. We’re both Gryffindors, but he just laughed and told the same old stupid cow joke.”

They were the oldest at twenty and both going to be third years, but where Hongjoong was short and blond, Seonghwa was tall with black hair and looked like a model. Mingi smirked. Of course, he and Yunho both had an inch on Seonghwa. They used it at every opportunity.

Wooyoung shook his head. “I’ll never understand how he, Namjoon, and Yoongi fit together.”

Seonghwa hit his arm. “Be nice.”

Wooyoung opened his mouth to protest, but San slapped a hand over his mouth.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa had caught the five putting pink socks on every statue and coat of armor in the castle on Halloween last year and decided it was a brilliant prank. The five had claimed the two ever since.

The trolley soon came by, and Wooyoung leapt up to buy what seemed like half of everything. But as Mingi munched his way through several chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties, he certainly wasn’t going to complain. The others battled to swap cards and Mingi smiled, but the worry he’d been pushing aside was creeping back in and making it difficult to laugh.

Yunho gripped his shoulder, suddenly seated next to him. ‘It’ll be fine,” he muttered quietly.

Mingi certainly hoped so. 

When the first sighting of Hogwarts came into view, seated atop its rocky outcrop past Hogsmeade, a long breath whooshed out of Mingi. Some of the weight lifted from his chest. It hadn’t been a bad summer. He’d spent most of it with Yunho and Yunho’s family at their house, but Hogwarts was home.

Yunho squeezed his shoulder again. Mingi turned to look at his friend and found Yunho’s brown eyes warm with understanding. His white blond hair was like a halo around his head. Mingi swallowed hard. He smushed his face against the glass of the window to quell his rising emotion.

Getting off at the Hogsmeade train station and into the carriages was an unpleasant jolt. It had gotten darker than Mingi realized from inside the train. He exchanged a look with Yunho. Mirroring anxiety lined his face. They knew it was going to happen tonight. The timing was one thing Mingi never forgot, but it was going to be tight.

Mingi took out his sudden nerves on the skeletal horse thestrals and gave them a glare as he hurried into a carriage. He knew they were harmless, at least to him, but he still didn’t like them. He didn’t like what they represented. He didn’t like what they made him remember. It had been quite the shock last year, first just seeing them, realizing that not everyone could, and then why he could. Out of his group, it was just him, Yunho, and San. Mingi knew Yunho’s story, it was the same as his, but he didn’t know San’s. San hadn’t volunteered the information and Mingi hadn’t asked.

Mingi grew tenser the longer they stayed in the carriage. There was a tingling in his fingers and toes and he sat back, hiding from the window. They needed to get out. He felt Hongjoong’s gaze on him and shook his head at his friend. They weren’t going to make it to the feast.

Hongjoong was the only one of their group who knew his and Yunho’s secret. He’d accidentally stumbled upon it last year, and had been far more understanding than Mingi ever could have hoped for. Now, Hongjoong understood without Mingi saying anything. Hongjoong also kept track of the timing. 

When the carriages rolled across the Hogwarts Bridge and stopped in the courtyard in front of the Great Hall, Hongjoong waved them away. “I’ll take care of your luggage and the others,” he muttered. “Just go.”

Mingi didn’t second guess his friend. He and Yunho promptly began to race across the courtyard. Wooyoung let out a surprised yell. “Where are they going?”

Mingi turned and made a face. Hopefully Wooyoung would take that to mean they were up to one of their tricks. He could come up with something later.

Yunho yanked him back around. “Move,” he said.

It was definitely going to be tight. Mingi could feel it coming. The tingle crawled up his spine and his hands shook. The low hum of irritation and excess energy he’d been feeling all day grew stronger by the minute.

Mingi panted as he ran through the stone corridors and arched doorways, Yunho keeping pace next to him. All the other students were headed into the Great Hall for the feast so no one tried to stop them. Only the portraits called out questions and a few jumped from picture to picture to follow.

They raced down flights of stairs towards the dungeons and skidded to a halt in front of a plain wooden door tucked behind a staircase. Hogwarts had secrets, every student knew that and everyone knew different bits and pieces. This one was Mingi and Yunho’s.

Mingi hissed, “ _Alohomora_ ,” and the lock clicked open. Mingi yanked the door open and Yunho locked it behind him. There was a short hallway and then stone stairs carried them even deeper below Hogwarts. They ran down the stairs until Mingi felt like he wanted to claw something out.

The stairs ended in another door that Mingi also unlocked. Yunho pressed himself up against Mingi’s back. “What’s taking so fucking long?” he asked impatiently. 

“Can you wait two seconds?” Mingi snapped back.

He finally got the door open even with his shaking hands. The moment it closed behind them, Mingi whipped around and slammed Yunho against the door. He yanked Yunho’s head down into a violent kiss. Yunho groaned into it and dug his fingers into Mingi’s sides as he kissed back with equal violence.

It was always like this the night of the full moon. Nothing Mingi had read had been able to give him a concrete answer as to why, but it was something to do with the transformation, something to do with all the excess energy running through him. Or maybe it was just them. 

Mingi bit Yunho’s shoulder hard enough to leave a mark in the morning. Yunho swore and looked at Mingi with glazed eyes. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” he rasped.

Mingi yanked his school robe over his head. “So are you,” he said.

Yunho stripped off his own robe and his underlying shirt and slacks. He turned around, placing his hands flat against the door and turned his head to the side. “C’mon,” he said. “Do it.”

Mingi didn’t need a second invitation. He spat into his hand and rubbed his rapidly hardening cock. He stepped closer and rutted against the cleft of Yunho’s ass. He bit the back of Yunho’s neck and Yunho winced, his head dropping to hit the door with a thud.

But it wasn’t right like this. The thing inside Mingi wasn’t satisfied. He dragged Yunho away from the door and shoved him down until he hit the ground on his hands and knees. Mingi got behind him and kicked his knees apart. Yunho tried to rise and turn around, but Mingi pushed Yunho’s shoulders down, forcing Yunho to arch his back and present his ass. Mingi growled in satisfaction. Words were difficult in this state. They weren’t usually like this. Rough didn’t come naturally to either of them, but like this…

Mingi lined up his cock and thrust, forcing his way into Yunho’s body. Yunho let out a sharp cry and his body spasmed. Mingi groaned in response. His hands gripped Yunho’s hips hard enough to bruise, keeping him in place as Mingi shoved until his balls hit Yunho’s ass and his cock was buried all the way inside. He pulled out only to thrust back in, the tight heat around his cock making his vision grow blurry.

It was fast and messy and Mingi barely noticed Yunho gasping beneath him as he rocked back to meet Mingi’s thrusts. They had no control like this, no finesse. With the moon this high, it was little more than an animalistic mounting. As his release hit the edge, Mingi released a howl and threw his head back. Yunho followed a moment later, one hand jerking himself off.

They finished not a second too soon because Mingi felt the change rip through him a moment later. His back arched and his elongating nails clawed at the floor. It was going to be a rough one. They hadn’t had time to get Wolfsbane. Mingi felt his consciousness fade to the back as the wolf took over. He tilted his head back and howled again. Next to him, Yunho mirrored the movement. Another moment later, there was nothing. 

Mingi woke to the feeling of warmth. He sighed and tried to curl deeper into it only to find he couldn’t move. The warmth was a heavy weight plastered over his back. On top of him, Yunho grumbled.

Bleary consciousness slowly returned and Mingi squinted, trying to take stock of their surroundings. The windowless room was mostly as they’d left it, not that there was much in it. The stone walls of the cave-like room were bare. They’d covered the floor in carpets to make it easier on their bodies. The only other object was a small chest where they kept extra blankets and emergency bandages.

Mingi shifted and promptly winced. His whole body ached. It would for days.

Yunho’s arms tightened around him. “Stop moving,” he grumbled. It felt like Yunho’s face was smushed somewhere between Mingi’s shoulder blades. 

Someone coughed. It took Mingi a second to register it and when he did, he realized with horror that the sound had come from the door, not the body on top of him. He stumbled to his feet, shoving Yunho away. He found a young-looking boy in a Gryffindor robe staring at them in alarmed fascination.

“What the fuck?” Yunho squinted from the floor. 

Mingi stared at the boy before flushing red as he realized he and Yunho were still naked. He hurried to grab a blanket from the chest and wrap it around his waist before turning back around. “What are you doing here?” he asked with aggressive defensiveness.

The boy raised his hands and took a step back. “Listen, it was an accident, promise. I’m a first year. The feast finished and I got lost and ended up here.” He looked around the cave room with obvious confusion.

The boy was short but obviously muscular, not that Mingi was wondering if he could take him in a fight. But even more concerning was how calm the boy looked beneath his ordinary black haircut. It was freaking Mingi out. In fact, it looked like Mingi was panicking far more than the boy was.

“Uh, what exactly did you see?” Yunho asked. He was still seated on the floor, his hands covering his crotch. Mingi threw a blanket at him.

The boy looked at them unimpressed. “I was on the stairs and I heard a lot of howling and, well,” he scratched his head in sudden embarrassment. “See, I’m a muggle and my parents work with injured wild animals in Wales, and I don’t really know how things work here. I thought some wolves were trapped, which would be really weird now that I think about it, but then I found you–” The boy abruptly gave them a stern frown. “Listen, I don’t know what kinky shit you’re into, but I really don’t need to know.”

Mingi choked. Did he think…well it was better than the truth.

The boy’s eyes abruptly widened as he processed what he’d just said. “Wait, holy shit, are you two werewolves? Are those a real thing?”

Yunho leapt to his feet in alarm. “Listen, you can’t tell anyone!”

So much for keeping that a secret.

“Wait, are you saying that you really are werewolves?” The boy took a step back and his eyes moved back and forth between Mingi and Yunho. His incredulous expression slowly faded into a frown. “You’re both terrified, aren’t you?” he said slowly.

Mingi raised his hands. “Just please promise you won’t say anything,” he pleaded.

The boy tilted his head to one side. “Does the school know?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” Yunho said quickly. “They gave us this room for, for,” he stumbled over his words. “For the full moon every month.”

“Alright,” the boy nodded. “I guess the rest of it isn’t really my business. I’ll just, uh,” his gaze flicked between Mingi and Yunho. “I’ll let you get dressed and back to whatever you were doing.”

“Uh, thanks,” Yunho said dazedly.

The boy opened the door and turned to leave.

“Hey,” Mingi called after him. “What’s your name you terrifying first year muggle?”

The boy turned around and grinned. “Jongho. My name’s Jongho.” 


	2. Wooyoung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another disclaimer: I'm not any kind of Harry Potter scholar, so while I've tried to keep things mostly canon-ish...there also may be some fudging...
> 
> Happy reading:)

_Wooyoung_

WOOYOUNG KNEW HE WAS a brat. He pulled too many pranks, could be mean verging on cruel, and he teased his friends too much. But the way everyone had reacted at the feast to the arrival of the centaurs and the vampire made him shrivel up inside. He’d spent the past two days thinking about it, tossing and turning instead of sleeping. San had tried to calm him down but nothing had worked.

Now, when he should have been headed to Transfiguration, he was skulking outside the Infirmary. Wooyoung knew the vampire was inside. A student had come out a moment before and Wooyoung had heard Madame Everard call, “–more blood.” The student had hurried off to no doubt get said blood. Wooyoung paced back and forth, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway as he wracked his brains. What his plan was moving forward…well, Wooyoung never said he was good at making plans.

The student suddenly came back into view, and without thinking, Wooyoung leapt into action. The student was Garrick, a fourth year Ravenclaw mediwizard that Yeosang sometimes spoke to. “Hey Garrick,” Wooyoung jumped in front of him. “I was just going into the Infirmary. I can take that in for you,” he gestured at the bag of blood Garrick was carrying. It was a terrible excuse, but Wooyoung had to say something. 

Garrick raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Wooyoung. I know what you’re doing and Madame Everard asked me to bring this back to her personally.”

Under ordinary circumstances, that would have been that, but Wooyoung had paid attention when Yeosang talked about Garrick. “What’s your price?” he asked. Among the mediwizard students, it was well known that Garrick liked to do his own experimentation. “You give me the bag, and I’ll get you whatever you need from Professor Clearwater’s potion stores. You know I’m good for it.”

A grin slowly stretched across Garrick’s face. He barely hesitated. “A vial of black mamba venom and those Luna moth wings.”

“Done,” Wooyoung agreed.

Garrick handed over the bag. “Good luck,” he said with a grin.

Wooyoung wondered what that was supposed to mean, not that he cared enough to stop. Garrick disappeared back down the hallway and Wooyoung peered into the bag. He jerked his head back in disgust. It was exactly what he’d suspected – a bag full of blood. He hoped it was animal. Wooyoung hurried into the Infirmary.

This early in the school year, the Infirmary was mostly empty, the rows of cots covered in starched and neatly folded white sheets. Arched glass windows filled the room with early afternoon light. Wooyoung’s footsteps rang against the flagstones in the silence.

“What took you so long?” Madame Everard called without looking around.

The mediwizard in charge of the Infirmary stood at the far end of the room next to a cot surrounded by curtains. She was a stocky middle-aged witch with her brown hair neatly covered in a cap and sleeves clipped up to her elbows. She turned around and promptly frowned. “Wooyoung, what are you doing here?” she asked suspiciously. “Where’s Garrick?” 

Wooyoung was familiar with Madame Everard and she with him. He’d made far too many trips to the Infirmary last year. He gave her his best smile. “I was just passing by and Garrick remembered something he needed to do. He said it was urgent and asked me to bring this to you.”

Madame Everard rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe you in the slightest, but bring that here. I’ll deal with you in a moment.”

Wooyoung approached the bed. Through one partially opened curtain, Wooyoung saw a pale wrist chained to the bed. Madame Everard pulled the curtain all the way back and Wooyoung’s breath stopped. The vampire looked pale. Wooyoung knew that vampires were normally pale, but this didn’t look healthy. “Is she going to die?” Wooyoung asked quietly.

Madame Everard gave him a quick look as she took the bag from him. “Not if I have anything to say about it,” she answered grimly. She hooked up the bag to a tube that connected to the vampire’s mouth. She tapped the bag with her wand and the blood started to flow.

“Can’t you just, I don’t know, magic the blood into her?” Wooyoung asked. He didn’t want to be a mediwizard, but he was interested regardless.

“Vampires have a natural resistance to magic,” Madame Everard explained as she monitored the blood flow. “We have to do this the muggle way.”

She watched him watch the vampire. “Do you think she should die?” Madame Everard asked.

“What?” Wooyoung startled. “No! I mean, I know she’s a dark creature and everything, but she came here asking for sanctuary.”

Madame Everard gave him another look that he couldn’t quite decipher. “So she did,” Madame Everard agreed. “And we should respect that.”

With a sudden gasp, the vampire in the bed jerked awake. Her eyes flew open and she bolted upright, her chained wrist clanging against the bed. The tube dropped from her mouth and she looked around wildly. “What is this? Where am I?”

“You’re at Hogwarts school,” Madame Everard said in her most soothing voice. “We’re in the Infirmary and we’ve been trying to take care of you.”

“Where’s Romilly?” the vampire asked, still wild.

“I don’t know anyone by that name,” Madame Everard said carefully. “Should we look out for him?” She turned to look at Wooyoung. “You need to go. Now.”

Her tone brooked no argument, and Wooyoung reluctantly turned to leave. He walked back to the Infirmary door as slowly as he could and heard Madame Everard ask, “Who’s Romilly?”

“He’s a Hunter, the Hunter. He’s coming after us all!”

“Wooyoung!” Madame Everard suddenly barked. “Stop dawdling! Out, now!”

Wooyoung left.

He looked at the time and swore. Transfiguration had already started. He made it to class right as Professor Cadmus finished giving his beginning of the year spiel. Wooyoung slide into a seat next to San, gasping for breath.

San grabbed his arm. “Where have you been?” he hissed.

Wooyoung grinned at him. “Just wait until I tell you.”

“Mr. Jung,” Professor Cadmus barked. “I’m glad to see nothing has changed over the summer. Ten points from Gryffindor for being late on the first class. I dearly hope for your sake this isn’t an indication of how the rest of the year is going to go.”

“Absolutely not, Professor,” Wooyoung smiled brilliantly. “I can’t express how much I missed your class.”

Professor Cadmus grunted and glared at him from beneath bushy white eyebrows. His hair was white too and stood out wildly from his head, but his face was young. 

San jabbed him in the side and Wooyoung winced. “Learn some fucking manners.”

“It’s going to be worth it,” Wooyoung whispered back. “We need to get everyone together tonight.”

Wooyoung looked around the room for the others. Yunho and Mingi sat behind him looking tired and what was up with that? It was only the second day of class. Wooyoung frowned at them. They had disappeared right before the feast and Wooyoung had expected to see them later with a great joke planned. Of course, then Wooyoung had gotten distracted by the centaurs and the vampires and he’d forgotten, but what had happened?

From Wooyoung’s other side, Yeosang jabbed his other side. “Focus.”

Wooyoung tried. He wanted to be an auror, and he knew that Transfiguration was important, but there were so many other thoughts swirling around in his head. It was a long class. 

It was late in the evening by the time they all gathered together in the empty divination classroom. They had discovered last year that it was almost always empty after classes, and with its many cushions and big tower windows, it was the perfect place to relax.

Wooyoung currently lay with his head in San’s lap as Seonghwa described his Care of Magical Creatures class. As a third year, Seonghwa could now take it and Wooyoung was jealous.

“–Fire Crabs, on our first day!” Seonghwa was saying. “Jimin thought it was cute and tried to cuddle it. He nearly lost all his hair.”

Hongjoong cackled. “He was so mad! Well, as mad as Jimin ever gets.” Hongjoong lounged next to Seonghwa, his heeled boots propped up on a table.

On Wooyoung’s other side, Yeosang groaned. “How fun for you. Professor Clearwater corned me today to talk about the electives I need to take next year. It was the first day of his class!”

“You’re the one who decided you want to be a mediwizard,” Wooyoung said unsympathetically.

Yeosang glared at him. “Both my parents are mediwizards. What else am I supposed to do?”

“You’re at Hogwarts, do anything you want.” It was an ongoing argument.

Yeosang probably would have given a sharp retort, but just then Mingi and Yunho burst into the room. The two giants walked side by side, bruises still under their eyes but looking slightly more chipper now that the day was almost over.

“Where have you been?” San asked.

Mingi dropped down onto the cushions with a dramatic groan and flipped his vibrant red hair. “We brought a friend along.”

Only then did Wooyoung notice the other boy who’d entered with his two friends. Wooyoung sat upright.

“Who are you?” Hongjoong asked.

Wooyoung saw Mingi and Yunho exchange a quick glance. “His name is Jongho. He’s a first year. We met him yesterday and thought he could join us.”

“Does this have something to do with whatever you two were up to yesterday?” Wooyoung asked suspiciously.

Yunho looked unreasonably guilty. “Maybe.”

Jongho took a step into the room and greeted them politely. “Hi, I hope I’m not introducing, but, well,” he suddenly looked bashful. “I’m a first year and a muggle and honestly just trying to understand what’s happening right now.”

And just like that, all of Wooyoung suspicion vanished. He jumped up and wrapped an arm around Jongho’s shoulders. “And you’re a Gryffindor,” he declared firmly. “Not that we really care about Houses here, but I would feel bad if we kicked you out now.”

He looked at Jongho seriously. “But I should warn you, the chances of us getting into mischief are very high so now is your chance to get out while you still can.”

Jongho laughed. “Considering what I saw yesterday, I think I can handle it.”

“What did you see yesterday?” Yeosang asked curiously.

They all turned to look at Mingi and Yunho who looked even guiltier.

“Look,” Mingi said and he shuffled his feet nervously. “We were going to tell you, but things were going well and it just never really came up and we were dealing with it–” He snapped his mouth shut.

San jumped up and wrapped his arms around Mingi, looking concerned. “Whatever it is, you can tell us,” he said. “You’re our friends. You know that.”

Yunho took a shaky breath “Right. I’ll just say it then.” He took another breath. “We’re werewolves.”

Silence. Then–

“What?” Wooyoung exclaimed.

Shouts piled on top of each other.

“Since when?”

“Like the full moon-turn into a wolf-werewolves?”

Wooyoung had a sudden thought. “Wait, so are the two of you actually fucking or is that just a cover to do werewolf things?”

Mingi stared at him and then squawked, “That’s what you want to know?”

Well Wooyoung wanted to know a lot of other things, but Mingi and Yunho looked like they were on the verge of a panic attack.

“So, you’re not?” Yeosang asked cynically.

Yunho flushed red. “I mean we do, sometimes.” He stumbled over the words. Neither he or Mingi looked at each other.

Hongjoong stood up and placed a hand on their arms, which looked kind of funny considering he was half their size. And yet, in their nervous state, he might as well have been towering over them. “Regardless,” Hongjoong gave Wooyoung a pointed look, “we are glad you told us.” He paused and then asked delicately, “I assume the school knows?”

Yunho nodded. “Yeah, and they gave us a room where we…transform every month. And Professor Clearwater helps us with Wolfsbane.”

“I just have one question,” Mingi said turning to Jongho. “How in Merlin’s name did you get into our transformation room? Professor Septiman said only we should be able to unlock the door.”

Jongho looked uncomfortable. “I was walking down the hallway and the door just opened.”

“The door just opened?” Mingi repeated looking alarmed.

Seeing as another panic attack was quickly on the way, Wooyoung clapped his hands. “Well, this is all very exciting, and we’ll deal with that later, but are you ready for some real news?”

“What do you mean real news?” Yunho flapped. “We just told you we’re werewolves!”

Wooyoung winked at him. “Yes, and that’s all very shocking considering that the two of you are basically already puppies, but just wait until I tell you my news. This afternoon when I was minding my own business–”

“When you should have been in class,” San muttered under his breath.

Wooyoung ignored him. “Anyway, this afternoon I got into the Infirmary and saw the vampire.”

This time all the shouts were directed at him.

“What?”

“She’s alive?”

“Madame Everard gave her blood,” Wooyoung explained. “Then she woke up and said the name Romilly.”

Confused stares met his gaze.

“He’s a Hunter,” Wooyoung tried again.

Hongjoong shook his head. “Still no idea who that is or what Hunters are, but I bet we could find out.”

Wooyoung sighed dramatically and dropped back down onto the cushions. “You really need to work on your reactions,” he complained. “I’ve been saving this all day.”

Everyone laughed and Mingi and Yunho were drawn into the group. Jongho stared at them all like they were crazy, but he was laughing as well by the time they all left for bed.

San attached himself to Wooyoung’s back as they left the room. “Want to come back to mine?” he asked.

“You mean ours?” Yeosang said as he passed them.

All first years slept in one room in their House dormitory, but after that they paired up with a roommate or two of their House and year. As second year Slytherins, San and Yeosang were rooming together. Wooyoung had his own second year Gryffindor roommate, but given his relationship with San, he fully intended to be in San and Yeosang’s room most of the time.

The moment they got to their room, Yeosang climbed into his bed and pulled the curtains to his four-poster bed shut. “If you don’t put up a silencing charm, I’m going to hex you,” he called.

“We’ll think about it,” Wooyoung cackled, but it was the first thing he did.

Wooyoung stripped down to his boxers and climbed into San’s bed. San promptly wrapped around him like an octopus. “We can’t sleep like this,” Wooyoung complained. “I’m going to wake up in a furnace.”

“You’re a brat,” San replied.

Wooyoung rolled his eyes. “So you tell me, everyday.”

There was silence and then Wooyoung felt gentle fingers brush hair away from his forehead. “I know what you did earlier,” San said quietly.

“What did I do?”

“You made Mingi and Yunho laugh. They looked like they were about to pass out on the spot.”

Wooyoung swallowed and it took him two tries to find his voice. “They’re our friends,” he finally said. “And I don’t understand it and I have about a thousand questions, but of course we still love them.” He felt San smile against his neck.

“You really are a brat,” San said again. “But you’re a brat with a heart of gold.”

“I missed you,” Wooyoung whispered.

He’d only seen San briefly over the summer. With San’s pureblood parents, visiting was difficult or just unpleasant. And due to an impulse Wooyoung still didn’t fully understand or control, he found it difficult to be sincere unless pushed. He and San had been half-fighting since they got back to Hogwarts. There was a pause and then–

“Aw, that’s nice.”

Wooyoung shoved at San’s shoulder. “Fuck off, I was being serious.”

San pressed his forehead to Wooyoung’s and locked eyes. “I know,” he whispered. “I missed you too.”

Wooyoung closed his eyes and kissed San hungrily. San cradled Wooyoung’s face with both hands and kissed him back with equal force. Wooyoung wrapped his arms around San waist and flipped them over until he was straddling San. Wooyoung grinned. “Shall I show you how much I missed you?”

San raised an eyebrow up at him. “What part of me did you miss?”

“All of you.” Wooyoung bent down to San’s bare chest and nipped at one of San’s nipples, lightly drawing his teeth across it.

San hissed.

“All of this.” Wooyoung kissed his way down San’s toned stomach. He stopped at the waistband of San’s boxers and looked up at San mischievously. “But yeah, I especially missed this.” He pulled down San’s boxers and swallowed San down to the root.

San let out a long groan and his hands came down to grip Wooyoung’s hair. Wooyoung moaned encouragingly and the vibrations around San’s cock made him tighten his grip on Wooyoung’s hair. Wooyoung sucked enthusiastically, until San tugged Wooyoung back up and kissed him, not particularly caring where his mouth had been.

“Wanna ride you,” Wooyoung groaned.

“Yeah,” San agreed breathily. “Gonna make you feel so good.”

His hands drifted down to Wooyoung’s waist and tugged his boxers down. Wooyoung obligingly lifted his hips and the boxers landed somewhere on the floor. Wooyoung fumbled around in the bedside table for the bottle of lube he was sure San had stuck there, even as he attempted to keep kissing San. He felt San shake with laughter beneath him.

“Shut up,” Wooyoung mumbled and went back to kissing San.

San took the bottle from Wooyoung and a moment later, Wooyoung felt cool wet fingers massaging his entrance. Wooyoung arched back into the touch as a finger slipped inside. He rocked back impatiently.

“C’mon,” he said impatiently. “We’ve done this before.”

San must have felt the same because he quickly added a second finger and then a third. After a summer of just his hand, it was a little too much a little too fast, but Wooyoung was too aroused to care. He knocked San’s hand away and sat up. Leaning back, he gripped the base of San’s cock, lined it up, and then slowly sat down.

San’s hands flew to Wooyoung’s waist as his cock breached Wooyoung’s body. “Fuck, Woo, just like that. You feel so good.”

Wooyoung panted and rocked with little movements, trying to adjust. The only warning he got was the glint in San’s eyes before San suddenly snapped his hips up and drove his cock all the way inside Wooyoung.

“You fucker,” Wooyoung swore, his eyes watering at the sudden pressure.

“That’s exactly what I am,” San agreed smugly.

They were both too impatient, both having gone too long for them to be able to stretch it out. San snapped his hips up in a rapid rhythm as Wooyoung placed his hands against San’s chest and rocked back to meet him. Wooyoung threw his head back as San hit his prostrate and lowered one hand to jerk himself off as San continued to pound into him. A moment later, he felt the lighting gather at the base of his cock and he was coming over his fist. The unconscious squeeze of his ass was enough to send San over the edge as well, and Wooyoung felt a flood of warmth spread through his ass as San came inside him.

Wooyoung collapsed down and lazily kissed San’s face and jaw. “I guess you’re still okay at that,” he said once he’d gotten his breath back.

“Okay?” San said outraged.

He retaliated by slapping Wooyoung’s ass and the movement made San slip out. Wooyoung hissed at the sudden emptiness and felt cum begin to dribble down his thighs.

Wooyoung slapped San’s shoulder. “Go get a towel.”

San grabbed his wand and gave it a wave. “ _Accio_ towel.”

There was a thud followed by a shout from behind Yeosang’s curtains. “Fuck you! I was using that!” A wet bath towel flew through the curtains and landed on San’s face. Wooyoung rolled onto his side cackling.


	3. Hongjoong

_Hongjoong_

HONGJOONG WAS IN HIDING. He crouched behind a bookstack in the library to spy on the figure standing one bookstack over as he tried to figure out what to do. It was a conundrum. Hongjoong tapped his bronze painted nails against the book he was holding. Hongjoong wasn’t afraid to approach, no, he was a friendly guy. Maybe not as extroverted as Wooyoung or Mingi, but he liked people as much as the next person. The problem was, a) the person was looking through the last book Hongjoong needed, and b) the person was Kim Namjoon.

It wasn’t that Namjoon was such a terrible person. He was a Ravenclaw, just like Hongjoong, and one year above. But Namjoon was powerful both inside Hogwarts and out of it. He came from a strong pureblood family and was in a relationship with the son of another powerful pureblood family, muggle-born Yoongi aside. Namjoon was also incredibly smart and all the professors and Headmaster Rookwood adored him. Bottom line, Hongjoong didn’t want to approach him and give away the information he had until Hongjoong knew why Namjoon was also looking those books.

Because those books weren’t casual reading.

A hand tapped Hongjoong’s shoulder and he jumped a foot in the air, nearly having a heart attack. He whirled around to find Seonghwa staring at him in concern, hand frozen in the air.

“What are you doing?” Hongjoong hissed. They stood close enough together where he had to look up at his friend’s face.

“I was going to ask you that,” Seonghwa said. He peered around the end of the bookstack to stare at the silver-headed glasses-clad fourth year Ravenclaw. “Why are you hiding from Namjoon?” he frowned. “Are you spying on him?”

“Stop that!” Hongjoong whispered.

He dragged Seonghwa out of view before his loud voice could draw Namjoon’s attention. Seonghwa gave him a concernedly confused look, but Hongjoong ignored it in favor of pushing Seonghwa back to the table he’d been camped out at for the past few days.

Hongjoong had grabbed his favorite table. It was tucked away in a corner on the second floor of the library, right next to a circular stained-glass window. Even if he hadn’t had this project, he still would have been here. Students established patterns in the library quickly, and it was important to stake out territory immediately because it would last the year.

Seonghwa looked at the table in dismay, no doubt seeing the stacks of books, sheaves of neatly organized paper, and scribbled notes. “Hongjoong, I know you genuinely like studying and being a student, but it’s the first week! What in Merlin’s name are you doing?”

Hongjoong snapped his painted nails and pointed at the chair opposite. “Sit.”

Seonghwa gave a long-suffering sigh but sat. He looked at Hongjoong with exaggerated patience. “Alright, I’m sitting. Now are you going to tell me what you’re doing?”

Hongjoong twiddled his thumbs, going over where to start in his head. “You know how Wooyoung gave us the name ‘Romilly’ from the vampire?” he asked.

Seonghwa nodded.

“And that our quick search didn’t turn up anything?”

Seonghwa nodded again.

“Well I was thinking about it and decided we needed to take a different approach. We also know that Romilly is a ‘Hunter’ and that the vampire was fleeing from him.”

Seonghwa looked over the table, now looking curious. “What have you found?”

“Not much,” Hongjoong said reluctantly. “I’d never heard of Hunters before, and from what I’ve gathered, they’re a new phenomenon, rising up after the end of the Second Wizarding War. There isn’t much else, at least not much that’s concrete.”

“Alright,” Seonghwa said reasonably. “Let’s start with what you do have.”

Hongjoong tugged at the long hair of his mullet in irritation, but Seonghwa was right. He often was. Hongjoong grabbed his quill and a fresh piece of parchment to sketch out his thoughts. “So, 1999, there’s the first mention of Hunters in the diary of Arabella Sinistra, a former Death Eater.”

“I don’t think Death Eaters are ever _former_ ,” Seonghwa interrupted.

“Point.” Hongjoong pointed his quill at Seonghwa. “In any case, she writes, ‘It’s been a year since Lord Voldemort’s death. The Ministry of Magic seems to think that it’s won. Even now, the Potter boy and his allies still celebrate. While I can’t deny this truth, I keep hearing rumors of a group of Hunters tracking down Dark Creatures and half-breeds. I do not know if they are born of Him or not, but I know that His work is never done’.”

Seonghwa made a face. “First of all, that’s just creepy,” then he frowned. “But I always thought half-breeds were never Voldemort’s main focus. I mean, I’m sure he would have gotten around to them eventually, but he was always going on about purebloods and muggles in everything I’ve seen. He even had werewolf allies at one point.”

Hongjoong nodded in agreement. “There’s more. I wasn’t able to find another reference until seven years later in 2006. There’s a small newspaper article describing ‘a group of self-proclaimed hunters who seek to end the vampire reign of terror’.”

Hongjoong picked up the newspaper clipping. There was indeed a short article and a faded moving picture of a head on a wooden spike in the middle of a farm field. He handed it over to Seonghwa who took one look at the gruesome photo and rubbed a hand over his face.

“I remember hearing about this, even young as I was,” Seonghwa said grimly. “There was a group of vampires roaming through southern England attacking muggles. Then all those vampires ended up dead one by one. The muggle police thought they had a satanic serial killer on their hands, but I don’t recall the Ministry of Magic doing much.”

“Right,” Hongjoong agreed. “My guess is that whatever press the killings got ended up buried beneath people’s vampire prejudice.”

Seonghwa put down the newspaper and looked glumly over the rest of the table. “What else did you find?”

Hongjoong scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Going through newspapers in the past fifteen years, there are a few more one-off mentions. There are similar kinds of incidents, a vampire or a werewolf or another Dark Creature being killed by a ‘Hunter’. But it’s impossible from what I have here to know if there’s actually a group or just a bunch of individual vigilantes all borrowing the same name.”

“Alright,” Seonghwa said, looking uncharacteristically serious. Not that Seonghwa was never serious, but Hongjoong knew that he tended to focus on taking care of those around him rather than wider world problems. “I assume you haven’t mentioned any of this to Mingi or Yunho?” Seonghwa asked.

Hongjoong shook his head. “I don’t mean to hide things from them, or anyone, but I don’t want to add more stress until I know what I’m talking about, at least a little.” 

“Maybe it’s for the best,” Seonghwa said. “They’ve been trying to act like everything is normal, but it’s not hard to tell that they’re still worrying over telling us.”

Hongjoong nodded. It was true. Mingi and Yunho were all smiles and laughs and jokes eighty percent of the time, but he kept catching them giving the group glances as if they expected something to suddenly change.

“In any case,” Seonghwa stood up. “We can’t do anything more with this right now, and I highly doubt you’ve been eating properly over the past few days.”

Hongjoong didn’t say anything. He couldn’t refute the accusation.

Seonghwa helped him gather up the books and papers, but as they were leaving the library to drop everything off in Hongjoong’s room, he asked, “How does this relate to you hiding from Namjoon?”

Hongjoong winced. “There’s one more book I was hoping to look through, but Namjoon got to it first. Of course, it could be a complete coincidence. Maybe there’s something else in the book that Namjoon wants, but…” Hongjoong trailed off pointedly.

“Yeah,” Seonghwa agreed. “That kind of coincidence is unlikely. So, the question is, how does he know about Hunters and what does he know?”

“Exactly. Also, what’s in the book?”

They dumped everything in Hongjoong’s room in Ravenclaw tower. Hongjoong set about reorganizing everything on his desk to make the new books fit neatly, and tried not to think too hard about Seonghwa being in his room. Seonghwa meanwhile begun to poke around Hongjoong’s room. He was holding up a jacket from Hongjoong’s closet when Hongjoong finished with his desk.

“I know you say you want to go into magical law enforcement,” Seonghwa said. “But you could do art if you really wanted.”

Hongjoong was pleased and hoped that his face wasn’t flushing. It was one of his hobbies, to take old jackets and shoes and jeans and paint them with different designs. He leaned up against his desk to stop himself from fidgeting. “That’s one I did on the summer,” Hongjoong explained.

He didn’t often talk about his side projects. There weren’t exactly art classes at Hogwarts, and art was always sort of thought to be a muggle activity, but Seonghwa was looking at the jacket with genuine interest. He’d picked out one of Hongjoong’s personal favorites. It had a tree painted across the back and then stiffer metallic lacquer radiating out in waves of light.

“I like it,” Seonghwa said. Then he grinned. “Though you’re a brave soul for picking English weather as a source of inspiration.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. “Oh, fuck off. I did it over the summer. It’s supposed to be an interpretation of the summer solstice.”

“Ooh, artistic interpretation,” Seonghwa teased. “We’re getting fancy here.”

Hongjoong glared, but he wasn’t actually mad. “Well if you’re going to be busy being an ass for a while, I’m going to repaint my nails.”

He pulled out the drawer where he kept all his nail colors, as well as base coat and top coat. He decided to keep his pinkies bronze, but then removed all his other nail color and repainted them a bright sky blue.

Hongjoong must have lost track of time, because when he looked up, he found that Seonghwa had put away the jackets and was standing next to him, staring down at Hongjoong’s painted hands. Hongjoong looked down at his own hands, trying to see them through Seonghwa’s eyes. “Is it too much?” he asked.

Seonghwa looked surprised. “What? No, I was just thinking they’re nice.”

Hongjoong scratched at his head. “I know not many other guys paint their nails, but I like it.”

Seonghwa frowned at him. “Since when do you care what others think? From the day we met you’ve always painted your nails. And you’ve always had that weird-ass mullet that you somehow manage to make look hot, and multiple piercings, and you sometimes wear kilt-skirt things.” His frown deepened. “Wait, do you care?”

Hongjoong shook his head. “Not anymore.” It wasn’t a lie. Sure, he had in the past, had angsted about it growing up, but he’d come to terms with himself. But Seonghwa was Seonghwa.

“You’re not one of the others,” Hongjoong pointed out. “I actually care about your opinion.” 

“Well you shouldn’t care what I think,” Seonghwa said firmly. “Not about this, anyway. And even if you did care, you look good in whatever you wear.” He slung an arm around Hongjoong’s shoulders and shook a finger in his face. “Far more importantly, you’re a good friend and you have a good heart.”

Hongjoong felt warm. Seonghwa fortunately withdrew his arm from Hongjoong’s shoulders, saving Hongjoong from turning into a tomato.

They were trooping out of Ravenclaw tower when Seonghwa cheerfully added, “Of course, if you ever cut your hair and remove all your jewelry and start wearing polo shirts, I might have to stage an intervention, because I would be seriously concerned, but that’s for another day.”

Hongjoong gave Seonghwa a light shove, but he was laughing.

“And speaking of concern,” Seonghwa added. “I need to get food into you. You have a bad habit of forgetting that your body needs to eat when you’re working, and I’m about to go full worried-parent mode.”

Hongjoong almost said _I don’t want you to be my parent_ , but he caught himself in time. Instead, he grinned at Seonghwa. “Why do you think I keep you around?”

Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “Great, so now I’m just your personal caretaker.”

Hongjoong thought he flushed slightly.

Mingi, Yunho, and Jongho were already eating lunch when they got to the Great Hall. Hongjoong clapped Yunho on the shoulder as he passed him to sit down. “How are Quidditch practices going?” he asked.

Yunho had made it onto the Hufflepuff team as a Beater and had been grinning for days.

Yunho groaned dramatically. “They’re kicking my ass. I don’t think I’m going to make it to the first game. Jungkook is a monster on a broom, and Dennis is more terrifying than any Death Eater, and Poppy might have a cute name and look sweet, but give her a Beater bat and she’s the most vicious person I’ve ever met.” Yunho’s words were complaining, but he was grinning cheerfully by the end. 

“I’ll remind you of that when you come back to the room tonight complaining,” Mingi said through a mouthful of Shepard’s Pie. 

Yunho made a face. Yunho and Mingi were both second year Hufflepuffs, so they were able to share a room. Technically their third roommate was Jungkook, but he was never there.

“How’s your puppy problem?” Wooyoung asked suddenly as he abruptly appeared next to them. He dropped down next to Seonghwa and grabbed a chicken leg. San and Yeosang followed a short distance behind.

Mingi gave him an affronted look. “Puppy problem?”

Wooyoung shrugged and winked.

Yunho rolled his eyes. “It’s not that time of the month, Wooyoung.”

Wooyoung opened his mouth, eyes glinting mischievously. San stuffed his mouth with another mouthful of chicken. “Don’t make that joke.”

Wooyoung glared where he normally would have laughed.

Seonghwa sighed. “Are you two fighting again? Wooyoung, what did you do?”

Wooyoung swallowed his mouthful of chicken and glared at Seonghwa. “Why do you always think it’s something that I did?”

“Because it usually is,” Yeosang said.

“Fuck you, you’re supposed to be on my side,” Wooyoung grumbled.

“You’re the one who said that, not me,” Yeosang retorted. “I’m on no one’s side.” 

Hongjoong put his head in his hands. “Children, please, behave.”

Jongho snorted and quickly covered it with a hand when they all looked his way.

“It’s not too late to find new friends,” Hongjoong warned him.

Jongho shook his head. “I like you guys, you’re funny.”

“We’re funny he says,” Hongjoong said sourly. “I’m so glad we entertain.” Maybe he had spent too long in the library.

Seonghwa shook half a sandwich in front of him. “Eat.”

Hongjoong grumpily took a bite.

He wouldn’t tell Seonghwa, but the food did help and he was feeling more energetic by the time he got to their defense against the dark arts class. He and Seonghwa sat behind Taehyung and Jimin who were both also third years. Jimin was Seonghwa’s roommate and Taehyung was a Slytherin and the reason Jungkook never slept in the room he supposedly shared with Yunho and Mingi.

Seonghwa tapped Jimin on the shoulder. Jimin whirled around glaring before he realized who it was. “Oh, sorry Seonghwa. I didn’t realize it was you.”

Seonghwa’s eyebrows shot up. “Who did you think it was?”

Jimin jerked his head to the other side of the room. “Those idiots won’t shut up.”

Hongjoong tilted his head to listen.

“-heard she walked right out of class,” a male Hufflepuff was saying.

“I still don’t understand it. They were doing fine in the Forbidden Forest,” a friend responded. “What are they doing here? I knew my parents didn’t like Rookwood for a reason.”

“It seems like the whole school has been arguing about it for the past week,” Jimin said quietly. “For every person that doesn’t care, there’s someone who hates that they’re here.”

“They’re being hypocritical and choosy,” Taehyung said dryly. “It’s not like the centaurs are the first non-humans to be students at Hogwarts, they’re just a little more obvious.” He raised a sardonic eyebrow.

Hongjoong suddenly remembered that Taehyung was half-Veela. He knew Taehyung had gotten a fair amount of nasty comments his first year, but Taehyung was also one of the most aesthetically beautiful people Hongjoong had ever seen and that went a long way towards helping the comments stop. He wondered if that had changed, but Professor Magorian entered before he had time to ask. 

“In light of recent events,” she announced, sweeping into the room. “I’ve decided to change our planned class and instead discuss centaurs and vampires. Are they Dark Creatures? Are they inherently evil? What are they?” She stopped at the front of the room and surveyed them with little hope that genius would spring forth.

Professor Magorian was an intimidating woman, tall and severe, with dark skin that seemed to glow and black hair in braids that wrapped around her head. But Hongjoong thought she was the fairest professor and she was his favorite.

“Well,” she asked with sarcastic patience. “Do any of you have thoughts or are you just going to stare at me dumbly?”

Hongjoong hid a smile behind his hand. Her bark was worse than her bite.

A Gryffindor hesitantly raised her hand. “Not much is actually known about vampires, far less than centaurs anyway. What we do know is that the vampiric disease is transferd through their saliva the same way as werewolves. They’re not actually undead like in muggle stories. It’s why they can have offspring.”

“All true,” Professor Magorian nodded. “Anyone else?”

“But they drink blood,” a Ravenclaw argued. “They’re inherently parasitic.”

“Are you really trying to argue that humans aren’t parasitic?” Taehyung drawled.

Quiet laughter filled the room.

The Ravenclaw glared but Professor Magorian forestalled him with a raised hand. “Good point, Taehyung,” she said with dry amusement. “But also not directly related to our current discussion.”

Hongjoong raised his hand. “In 2006, a group of vampires attacked muggles across England. In turn, the vampires were then hunted down by wizards and brutally killed. In the beginning of 2010, a coven of peaceful vampires in northern Scotland was slaughter.” Hongjoong shrugged. “I don’t see why they all have to be one thing or another. We don’t hold humans to the same standard.”

Taehyung and Jimin had both turned around and were staring at him. Hongjoong couldn’t read their expressions, but it was clear something was going on.

“But we do hold other creatures to that standard,” a Slytherin jumped in, leaning forward on her desk. “Should we argue that not all Dementors are evil? What about banshees or hags or basilisks? What is their standard? Why should vampires and werewolves not be classed with them?”

“Werewolves are only in their wolf form one night of the month,” Jimin pointed out.

“And vampires?”

“Peace,” Professor Magorian raised her hand again. “I did not raise this topic to come up with definitive answers. I do not in fact believe there _are_ definitive answers. But I do want to encourage you all to question and think as we welcome our new guests to Hogwarts. Now,” she clapped her hands in a clear transition. “If you all turn to page 473, you will find a breakdown of how vampire fangs work.”

The room silently did as instructed, but Hongjoong couldn’t help but think that the discussion was far from over.


	4. Jongho

_Jongho_

JONGHO HATED FEELING LIKE everyone knew what was going on except for him. He liked his new group of friends. They had welcomed him with open arms despite all their strangeness. But none of them were first years and none of them were muggles, and Jongho suspected that they’d forgotten that he was just trying to understand what was happening most of the time.

It was two weeks into classes and Jongho was back in the dungeon classrooms for Potions. Professor Clearwater, a stocky man with a clean-shaven head and neatly trimmed beard, sat on the edge of a table at the front of the class enumerating the twelve uses of dragon’s blood. Jongho hunched over his desk, quill scratching furiously as he tried to keep up. Two weeks ago, he hadn’t even known that dragons existed. Now he was discussing how to use them. 

“–healing abilities,” Professor Clearwater was saying. “Of course, not as good as unicorn blood, but then there are very few things as powerful as unicorn blood.” Clearwater chuckled. “Then again, I highly doubt any of you will see unicorns’ blood as it’s illegal to sell, and to harm a unicorn is to lead a cursed life.” 

Jongho stopped writing and stared at Clearwater. Was he joking? Jongho turned to his desk partner. She was a Ravenclaw and looked bored. Jongho thought her ears looked different, but after all the talk of dragons, unicorns, and werewolves, he wasn’t going to ask. “Unicorns are real too?” he whispered.

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Muggle, are you?”

She had long black hair and long eyelashes and her face was symmetrical. Jongho wondered if he was supposed to find her attractive, but he never found anyone attractive. Not really.

Jongho shrugged awkwardly. “Yeah, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Look, sorry, never mind.” Jongho turned back to his desk. He wasn’t self-conscious by nature, but he didn’t know what was normal. 

He heard a sigh next to him.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m just a little on the defensive.”

Jongho turned back to the girl and frowned. “Why?”

The girl stared at him flatly. “You don’t remember the other day in charms class?”

“Uh,” Jongho stared blankly, trying to remember. Nothing. He gave up and shrugged again. “I’ve been a little distracted.”

“Professor Septiman accidentally let it slip that I have goblin blood. My grandfather is one. He still works at Gringotts.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

The girl stared at him like he was an idiot.

Jongho tried again. “Ah, that’s not cool?”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Muggle, remember? I don’t have any idea what’s normal.” Jongho scratched his head and tried to think back to their last charms class. “Oh.” Maybe now that she’d reminded him, he did vaguely remember something. “Silvia, right?”

“Sybil,” the girl, Sybil, said dryly.

“Ah, of course.” Jongho gave an embarrassed laugh.

Professor Clearwater suddenly loomed over their double desk. “And the fifth use of dragon’s blood?” he asked pointedly. Clearly, he was expecting to catch them out as not paying attention.

Jongho looked up at Clearwater dumbly and then down at his notes. He didn’t have that written down.

“It’s a cure for verruca,” Sybil said promptly.

“Harrumph,” Professor Clearwater said. He looked slightly irritated, but he still said, “Very good, Sybil.” 

“How did you know that?” Jongho whispered after Clearwater had walked away. 

Sybil winked at him. “Goblins are extremely clever. I guess grandad is good for something.”

“Right,” Jongho said quietly.

Professor Clearwater went back to the twelve uses of dragons’ blood and Jongho bent back over his notes. He wasn’t ashamed about being a muggle, but he was beginning to get the impression that some people thought he should be.

It had been a fairly ordinary Saturday in his small rural town of Corwen, Wales when the first letter arrived. The owl had been shocking, but when he and his parents read the letter, it made more sense. Someone had created a very elaborate joke. It was hilarious, if a little strange. They’d thrown out the letter and forgotten about it. Then the second letter arrived. That had just been weird and a little aggravating. What was this prankster trying to do? Then a woman arrived who introduced herself as Professor Magorian, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That was when things just got bizarre. 

To his fairly alarmed parents, Professor Magorian proceeded to explain that Jongho had the potential for magic despite his muggle parents and that she was offering him a spot at Hogwarts. When his parents expressed skepticism – Jongho suspected he’d been in some kind of shock induced coma – Magorian had done something to their family dog that Jongho still didn’t think their dog had recovered from. But the bigger shock came when she asked Jongho to do his trick with sparks. That more than anything convinced Jongho that Professor Magorian was real. Maybe she was crazy, but if she was crazy then so was Jongho and maybe it was best that he go with her.

Jongho had never told anyone about his trick with sparks, not even his parents. There was no way she could have known about it, and yet here she was, sitting in his family’s living room on a couch drinking the tea his parents had offered out of forced politeness and staring at him expectantly. Jongho had stretched out his hand and gathered sparks on each finger until they danced around his hand in a fiery halo. His parents had stared at him like they had never seen him before, and then they’d agreed that yes, maybe going with Professor Magorian was for the best.

The rest of the summer hadn’t been easy, but Jongho supposed that having your entire world turned upside down by the realization that magic was real wouldn’t be easy for anyone. But then his mom had decided that if the medieval world could cope with the realization that the world was round instead of flat, and if earthbound humans could learn how to fly, then she could accept that magic was real. That had been that. Now, Jongho sent nearly daily letters back to his parents who wanted to know everything.

“–dismissed.”

Jongho jumped in his seat as he realized that Professor Clearwater was wrapping up.

“Due next class is a roll of parchment on three potions that use dragons’ blood as an ingredient,” Clearwater finished.

As the rest of the first years jumped up and hurried out of the classroom, Jongho glumly looked down at his unfinished notes. Maybe Sybil would let him copy some of her notes. He looked over, but found that she hadn’t written anything down. Jongho let out a deep sigh. It was all going to be fine. 

“Sybil, if you don’t mind?” 

Jongho looked up as Professor Clearwater called Sybil up to the front of the room. Clearwater looked more serious than he had all class and Jongho slowed his packing, trying to listen in without being obvious. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Sybil approached the front of the room. 

“Professor Clearwater,” Jongho heard her say stiffly.

“Ah, yes, Sybil,” Professor Clearwater said a bit embarrassedly. “I heard that Professor Septiman accidentally let it slip that you have some goblin blood in your family.”

“Yes.”

“Well, ah, as head of Ravenclaw House I just wanted to make sure that you’re doing okay. The other students haven’t been giving you any trouble?”

“I’m doing fine.”

“Right, of course.” Professor Clearwater’s hands fluttered as if he wasn’t sure what to do with them. “The thing is, I want to strongly encourage you to not go around by yourself too much. Try to be around other people.”

“Am I in danger, Professor?”

“No, of course not,” Professor Clearwater said hurriedly. “But it’s good to have friends you can rely on, don’t you agree?”

“Right, well thank you, Professor. I’ll keep that in mind.” Sybil stalked out of the room before Clearwater had a chance to say anything else.

Jongho dropped his head and busied himself with his bag as she walked past him, scowling. 

Professor Clearwater stared after her and only then seemed to remember that Jongho was still in the room. He stared at Jongho and said, “Keep an eye on her, won’t you? You’re both first years.”

Jongho looked up in surprise. “From how class went, I think she’s far more capable than I am,” he said slowly.

Professor Clearwater waved his hand. “That’s not even a question, but it’s not your abilities I’m concerned about. Just watch out for each other.”

Jongho grabbed his bag and shook his head. After deciding to attend Hogwarts, he and his parents had naturally done as much research as they could. At first, Hogwarts had seemed like a wonderful magical place. And it was. But Jongho was beginning to suspect that it was also one of the most dangerous places in the wizarding world.

Jongho left the classroom to find Wooyoung waiting for him. He almost turned right back around at the sight of the second year Gryffindor. The only reason he didn’t was because he knew Wooyoung would follow. Jongho had learned almost immediately that while Wooyoung had a heart of gold, he was not to be trusted. Wooyoung removed himself from the wall he’d been leaning against and gave Jongho a sunny smile.

Jongho felt deeply suspicious. “What is it?”

“I need to borrow you,” Wooyoung said catching Jongho’s arm.

“Why me and what for?”

“You look innocent.”

“I look like a gorilla.”

“Nonsense,” Wooyoung said winningly. “Anyway, the professors haven’t figured out yet that you’re associated with us. They don’t distrust you,” he added with a wink.

Jongho let out a deep sigh. “Wooyoung, what are you doing?”

Wooyoung began to drag him down the hallway. “All you have to do is stand outside a door, look innocent like you do, and warn me if anyone approaches.”

“And what will you be doing?”

Wooyoung paused and looked thoughtful. “Redistributing goods.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Wooyoung shrugged. “I promised a friend that I would acquire a few things, and now I’m keeping my word.”

“And what are those things?”

“Black mamba snake venom and Luna moth wings.”

Jongho stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Wooyoung, we don’t have those in our standard ingredients kit.”

“No,” Wooyoung agreed. “But you know who does?” He raised a dramatic finger. “Professor Clearwater.”

Jongho groaned. He should have known. He _had_ known in the back of his mind. He just hadn’t wanted to believe. “Alright,” he said grimly. “Let’s get this over with.”

Wooyoung whooped.

Two weeks in, Jongho was beginning to understand the dynamics of Hogwarts. Wooyoung, as a Gryffindor, seemed to think that it was his sworn duty to cause as much havoc as possible. Since Jongho was also a Gryffindor, the only other Gryffindor in their friend group, Wooyoung seemed to have taken that as a sign that Jongho was his partner-in-crim. Jongho and Wooyoung had very different opinions on the matter.

They made their way deeper into the bowels of Hogwarts, walking past classrooms quickly emptying of students. They turned into an empty hallway and Wooyoung was quick to inform Jongho that while most students thought it was just storage, it was actually where professors secretly kept additional supplies and ingredients. Jongho followed Wooyoung and hoped that the grinning lavender-head actually knew what he was doing.

Wooyoung finally stopped in front of a plain wooden door that must belong to Professor Clearwater and pointed to the side. “Just stand there and let me know if you hear anyone coming,” he said quietly.

Jongho looked around. There was no one in sight. He stared at Wooyoung. “What should I do if I hear someone? Should I yell really loudly, _Oh, god, Wooyoung, quick get out of the secret room you’re illegally breaking into, someone is coming_!”

Wooyoung stared at him in surprise before throwing his head back and cackling. “See? I knew I liked you.” He pretended to wipe away tears, but then looked at Jongho seriously. “But no, just knock on the door twice or something.”

Jongho nodded and waved at the door. “How are you even going to get in? Isn’t that going to have all kinds of spells on it or something?”

Wooyoung smirked. “Jongho, this is what I do best. Don’t ever doubt my ability to get into places I’m not supposed to.” He took out his wand and tapped the door’s lock while muttering, “ _Alohomora_.”

Nothing happened.

“I don’t think that worked,” Jongho observed.

Wooyoung shushed him. “I’m not done yet. This is a two-part spell.” He tapped the lock again, this time whispering, “ _Aberto_.”

The door clicked open.

Wooyoung grinned triumphantly. “This isn’t my first bull-throw,” he said.

“I don’t think that’s how you say it,” Jongho said.

“Whatever,” and then Wooyoung disappeared through the door.

Jongho wasn’t really a goody-two-shoes. He’d gotten into his fair share of scrapes and mischief growing up. But that was muggle trouble and he knew how to get out of it and he knew where the lines were. He was still learning what was allowed and not allowed at Hogwarts, what rules could be broken that weren’t really a big deal and what was actually a big deal. Now, as he waited outside in the empty hallway, he was a little more anxious than he cared to admit. He shifted his weight back and forth as he heard Wooyoung moving around and creating what felt like far too much noise.

“Hurry up,” he hissed into the room. “Someone will come eventually.”

“Stop worrying,” Wooyoung called back quietly. “It’s going to be fine.”

Jongho sighed but his curiosity was also beginning to get the better of him. He looked back and forth, there was still no one coming, and then peeked his head inside the room. It was rather like a candy store to a wizard, jammed packed with more than he could imagine. The small stone room was covered in shelves and cupboards and drawers. Glass jars contained plant bits and animal bits, mineral like things and liquid solutions, and that was just what Jongho could recognize. There was a table in the middle of the storeroom covered in cauldrons and stirring sticks and knives. Jongho kind of wanted to go around and touch everything, but he literally didn’t think he’d survive the process.

Wooyoung stood along the far wall, dumping the contents of a glass jar into another glass jar that he must have brought with him. Finishing that, he pulled out another small jar and moved on to another shelf filled with snake fangs and skins and bones.

Jongho almost missed it, but the sound of a boot on stone filtered through one ear. He whirled back to the door, heart suddenly pounding. No one was in the hallway, but the soft stomping of approaching footsteps made his hair raise. He panicked. He jumped into the room and closed the door until it was just cracked open.

Wooyoung whirled around. “What are you doing?” he hissed.

“Someone is coming,” Jongho hissed back.

“Then you’re supposed to get us out of here!”

“You’re not done yet!”

Wooyoung threw his hands into the air, but he began to move faster as he transferred snake fangs into his jar. Jongho peeked out from the crack in the door. The footsteps grew louder and then…a Slytherin student came into view. He walked closer and then passed, paying no mind to the door Jongho was quietly panicking behind.

Jongho let out a sigh of relief. “Are you done now?” he whispered.

As he turned back into the room, a shimmer caught his eye. He frowned and looked again. There was a bottle tucked away at the back of a shelf whose contents glinted even in the dim light of the storeroom.

Jongho frowned and stepped closer. It almost looked like…well, Jongho had just been looking at a picture of it in Professor Clearwater’s class.

“Alright, I’m done,” Wooyoung suddenly whispered in Jongho’s ear.

Jongho jumped and then waved a hand urgently at the bottle. “Tell me that isn’t what I think it is,” he hissed. 

“What?” Wooyoung drew closer, his face curious. The moment he saw the bottle, his face paled. “Jongho,” he said urgently. “We need to get out of here. Now.” He grabbed Jongho’s arm and began to drag him out of the room.

“It is, isn’t it,” Jongho whispered.

Wooyoung pushed him out of the room and into the hallway, locking the door behind them with slightly trembling hands. It wasn’t until they were well away from the room that Wooyoung responded. “Yeah,” he said, uncharacteristically grim. “Professor Clearwater’s collecting unicorns’ blood.” 

Hadn’t Professor Clearwater just said that was illegal and cursed?


	5. Yunho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll, hope you're staying healthy, drink enough water, get enough sleep, most importantly take care of those around you
> 
> Happy reading and hope this gives you a few moments mental break

_Yunho_

YUNHO WAS ABOUT TO throw up. Eggs had never looked so evil and toast was a personal affront. The first Quidditch game of the year, Hufflepuff against Slytherin, was today and Yunho didn’t think he was going to survive. A cup appeared in from of him.

“Just drink a little juice,” Mingi encouraged him. “You need to get some fluids in you.”

Because it was Mingi, Yunho reluctantly took a sip. His stomach protested.

“Oooh, now have some pancakes,” Wooyoung said oh so helpfully from across the table. He held up a plate stacked high with pancakes and fruit.

Yunho nearly coughed up his juice. 

“Hey, leave him alone,” Seonghwa said. “Don’t kill him,” he paused. “Or at least not until after the game. We need him to beat Slytherin.”

Yunho decided he hated all his friends.

“I see how it is,” San said, walking up to the table. “We’re all friends until the Quidditch starts.”

“You got that right,” Hongjoong looked up from the newspaper he’d been skimming. He wiggled his fingers, showing off bright blue nail polish. “Just wait. Ravenclaw is waiting it’s turn and then we’re going to crush all of you.”

Mingi scoffed. “In your dreams.”

Hongjoong winked. “You couldn’t begin to imagine what’s in my dreams.”

Seonghwa looked intrigued. 

Yunho decided all his friends were useless.

Hongjoong had been living in the library even more than usual saying he was doing “homework” as if the rest of them didn’t know that was code for something else. Wooyoung had been dragging Jongho around and getting him into trouble, but Jongho looked more amused than traumatized so Yunho supposed it was okay. 

A hand landed on his shoulder and Yunho nearly had a heart attack. “How’s he holding up?” Jungkook’s voice said above him.

“Well he’s breathing,” Yeosang said cynically. “But I’m not sure there’s anything else going on.”

Jungkook laughed. “I remember feeling the same way my first game.”

“You sound like you’re some ancient seventh year,” Yunho said petulantly. “But we’re the same age.”

Jungkook smirked. “But I’ve already got a year under my belt. Anyway, come on,” he dragged Yunho to his feet. “It’s time to get to the pitch. We need to do warmups and get dressed.”

Yunho turned to Mingi. “As my roommate I expect you to remember that I want a really big gravestone and I expect flowers every year and multiple bottles of alcohol.”

Mingi nodded solemnly. “I promise. It shall be done.”

“Hey,” Jungkook protested. “What am I then? I’m also your roommate.”

Yunho looked at him in disbelief. “How many times have you slept in your own bed in the past month? Maybe twice?”

The others laughed and Jungkook winced. “Alright, alright. Fair point. Now let’s go before Dennis yells at us.”

The rest of the team was already on the pitch when they arrived. Dennis, their captain and one of the three Chasers, ordered them to fly a few laps around the stadium to get used to the air conditions. It was a perfect day. A rare, clear blue sky with just a light fall chill. The weather didn’t make Yunho feel better. They moved onto throwing and catching exercises, and at the other end of the pitch, the Slytherin team entered and started their own warmups. That did help. For a few moments, it felt like just another practice. But when they left for their dressing room and the stands began to fill with students and the roar of the crowd filtered in, Yunho’s nerves returned in full force.

Jungkook clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re going to be fine. Just remember, your only job is to hit the Bludger at people wearing green. That’s the only thing you need to worry about. Don’t overcomplicate it.”

Yunho tried a smile. “Right, and your job is just to stop anything from getting through those hopes.”

Jungkook grinned. “Exactly. Just focus on one thing at a time.”

It helped. A little. 

They finished pulling on their arm guards and shin guards. Jungkook also had headgear and chest gear as Keeper. Yunho held his Beater’s bat in a strangle hold. Nerves wracked through him as they waited for the gates to the pitch to open. Something poked his arm. He looked to the side and found Jungkook grinning at him, his eyes laughing. “Still doing okay?”

“I think I’m going to hurl,” Yunho replied hoarsely.

The gates opened and Jungkook winked at him. “Just remember to have fun.”

Yunho resisted the urge to thwack Jungkook with his Beater’s bat. _Just have fun_ , he said. But then they were marching out onto the pitch and the deafening roar of the crowd obliterated any other thought from his head.

The Quidditch stadium was packed. It looked like the entire school had come out to watch and half of them were a sea of green, the other half yellow. Some students had made banners or flags and were waving them enthusiastically, while others had gotten their hands on instruments and were blowing them with various degrees of unison. Yunho knew his friends would all be up there together, Hufflepuff or not, and that eased some of his tension.

They approached the center of the pitch, the Slytherin team standing opposite. Yunho glared, a sudden burst of energy rushing through him. He revoked his last comment about his friends. San and Yeosang had been giving him hell all morning. He was looking forward to getting some Slytherin revenge even if neither of them was on the team.

“Hey Jungkook,” Dennis called out. “Just remember that the Slytherins are the enemy today.”

The rest of the team laughed and Jungkook raised his middle finger. “Fuck off,” he said cheerfully.

Coach Doge gave them all a stern look. “It’s the first game of the year,” she said. “Let’s play a fair clean game. Now players,” she pulled out a whistle. “On your brooms.”

She threw open the Quidditch chest and released the balls one by one. First was the Golden Snitch. It hovered between the teams for a moment, as if taunting them, before zipping sky high. But that wasn’t Yunho’s concern. Then came the two Bludgers, which were Yunho’s responsibility. Coach Doge picked up the Quaffle. “On my whistle, three, two one–”

The whistled sounded and blood roared in Yunho’s ears. Jungkook was off in a flash, streaking over to the Hufflepuff goal hoops before one of the Slytherin Chasers could get there first. Cedric, their Hufflepuff Seeker shot high to start searching for the snitch, and Yunho dove to the side, just barley avoiding a Bludger that had decided to come flying back to earth in an attempt to knock him off his broom. Yunho batted it way with sudden furry and energy pumped through him. Nerves or not, it was time to play. 

The game moved alarmingly fast, but Yunho felt himself grinning wildly. He loved Quidditch. He loved its frenetic energy and its explosiveness and even its danger. And once he got a taste, all he wanted was more. 

It felt like it had only been seconds, but it must have been longer when a bell rang through the stadium. Half the stands roared in triumph. 

“Ten points to Hufflepuff,” Davina called out over her magicked wand. She was a sixth year Gryffindor who acted as commentator for all Quidditch matches. “Hufflepuff Chaser Rita scores on Slytherin after a very tricky diagonal pass from Hufflepuff captain, Dennis.”

Yunho pumped his fist into the air. He triumphantly turned around and only through sheer dumb luck managed to dive out of the way of an oncoming Bludger. It passed close enough that he felt the swish of it past his ear. He laughed. Between the adrenaline rush of victory and fear, his head was in the game.

Davina announced a miraculous save by Jungkook and then another ten points to Gryffindor before Slytherin scored their first goal. The other half of the Quidditch pitch that had been growing sullen, exploded in cheers, whistles, trumpets, and jeers. Yunho growled. He went after the Bludgers like his life depended on it, and in the moment, it kind of felt like it did. He hit them towards the Slytherin team, using every flying trick he knew to get to them before the Slytherin Beaters did.

“Hey, Yunho,” one of the Slytherin Beaters called over to him as they raced towards a Bludger. “San bet me two galleons that you’d throw up in the first five minutes. If you haven’t, I can help with that.”

“You picked the wrong Slytherin,” Yunho yelled back, grinning. “If you’d said Yeosang, I might have believed you, but not San!” He got to the Bludger first and almost knocked the Slytherin Beater off his broom, forcing him into a rolling spiral downwards. By the time he stabilized, Yunho was gone and smashing the Bludger towards one of the Slytherin Chasers. 

It was hard to say just how long the game went on, but it felt like eons. Yunho’s energy began to fade. At one point, both Seekers streaked past him, hurtling through the stands in pursuit of the Snitch. Cedric nearly flew into one of the wooden support beams. He swung off his broom, hanging on by one hand while the crowd below him screamed. He managed to get back on, but by that time the Snitch had disappeared. Jungkook was doing well. He did a tricky flip-kick save that sent the Hufflepuff crowd into a frenzy, but even he was beginning to tire.

In a freak moment of chance, as Yunho was flying in a lap around the pitch, he caught sight of the Snitch and one of the Bludgers hovering together. He seized the chance. “Cedric,” he yelled.

Cedric turned his way and quickly caught sight of the Snitch. The Slytherin Seeker did as well and together they raced for the Snitch. Yunho raced for the Bludger. Reaching out as far as he could, bat clinging to his fingertips, Yunho cracked the Bludger towards the Slytherin Seeker with everything he had.

His aim was perfect.

The Slytherin Seeker saw the Bludger coming just in time and dived down, but those precious seconds gave Cedric the time he needed. A moment later, Cedric swooped upwards, gold glinting in his clenched fist. The crowd exploded in cheers and jeers.

Hufflepuff had won.

The moment Yunho’s feet touched the ground of the pitch, he was enveloped in a hug as hands pounded his back. “Brilliant move!” Dennis yelled in his ear.

Jungkook clapped him on the back. He looked exhausted, but he was grinning. “Nice one. Welcome to the team.” Yunho grinned back.

Cedric was being carried around bridal style by Rita. “Alright team!” she yelled excitedly. “Shower, get dressed, and then it’s party time in the Hufflepuff common room!”

The team cheered. Yunho could work with that plan. 

Yunho got to the Hufflepuff common room just as some of his friends were trying to enter. A Hufflepuff sixth year was playfully giving them a hard time. “Hey, this is a Slytherin free zone tonight,” he was saying to San and Yeosang.

“Come on,” San said in exasperation. “Our friends are in there.”

Just then, Taehyung strolled up to the door. He raised an eyebrow at the Hufflepuff. “Are you going to let me in?”

“Ah, Taehyung,” the Hufflepuff looked slightly embarrassed. “Yeah, Jungkook’s already inside. But are you sure you want to go in? There are a lot of very excitable Hufflepuffs running around.”

Taehyung raised a fist into the air. “Argh, I’m so angry,” he said with an utterly blank face. “How dare you evil Hufflepuffs beat Slytherin.”

The Hufflepuff snorted. “Alright, alright. Get inside.”

Yunho knew that Jungkook was a teddy bear despite his aggressively brash appearance. But Taehyung secretly, or not so secretly, terrified Yunho. There was something about the third year Slytherin that set Yunho on edge. And it appeared he wasn’t the only one.

But then the Hufflepuff guarding the door caught sight of Yunho and grabbed him in an enthusiastic hug, clapping him on the back. Yunho urgently gestured for San and Yeosang to slip inside, and by the time the Hufflepuff let him go, he was none the wiser.

Yunho entered the common room to cheers. The entire space was decked out in yellow streamers and it was packed with people. Someone grabbed him and before he knew it, he was being hyped up on someone’s shoulders. Yunho laughed. He felt fantastic.

When he was finally brought back to earth, red hair immediately filled his vision as Mingi grabbed him in a hug. His friend slapped him on the back and planted a messy kiss on his cheek. It was clear Mingi had already started to drink, but his voice was steady when he whispered in Yunho’s ear, “Nice job out there.”

Yunho smiled and for a few short seconds, it felt like it was just the two of them. Then Mingi pulled back and shoved a drink in his hand. “Now start drinking!” 

Three drinks later, Yunho felt great, the best he had in a long time. He’d just played his first game of Quidditch at Hogwarts and his team had one. And not just the team, him. He’d been critical to that win. People all around him kept clapping him on the back and cheering. He’d never been unpopular, but he’d never been popular like this. It felt like everyone in Hufflepuff had come up to him at least twice to congratulate him and he’d definitely had more than one drink. Yeosang and San had pretended to be mad for about sixty seconds, but then they hadn’t been able to hide their smiles anymore. They were cheerfully putting up with the friendly ribbing to celebrate with Yunho in the Hufflepuff common room.

The rest of the Hufflepuff team was all there. Dennis had raised a few toasts, but he had since been dragged away by his girlfriend to “celebrate in private.” Most of the rest of the team was well and truly on their way to being smashed. In one armchair, Jungkook was straddling Taehyung’s lap as they made out in an uncharacteristically public display of affection. Yunho felt a spark of happiness for his friend and theoretical roommate. Jungkook and Taehyung were notoriously private, and Yunho was glad to see them comfortable.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong were together in a corner laughing. Yunho had thoughts about that, but he’d never say them out loud. Seonghwa’s roommate, Jimin, wandered over at one point to congratulate Yunho before being dragged away by a girl. The only person who’d been missing for a while now was Mingi.

Yunho couldn’t dismiss the twinge of unhappiness in his stomach at his friend’s absence. He had been there before, of course. He’d been the first of his friends to congratulate Yunho when he got back to the common room. He’d slapped Yunho on the back and given him a bear hug and a smile that could power the sun, but then he’d disappeared.

It was late in the evening, or maybe early in the morning, by the time Yunho was able to escape his fellow Hufflepuffs. Wooyoung and San had disappeared which meant they were fighting or fucking or both. Yunho didn’t care to guess. Jongho had been corned by several girls and looked vaguely terrified. Yunho started to go over, feeling bad, but he was intercepted by Seonghwa who got there first. Feeling confident that Seonghwa was far better equipped to deal with whatever that was, Yunho returned to his hunt. Mingi was still missing.

He managed to track down Hongjoong and ask him, but Hongjoong said he didn’t know. A strange look crossed his face when he said it, but Yunho was too drunk to figure out what it meant. With reluctance, Yunho finally gave up the search and went to bed before he fell asleep on the common room floor. It was a mistake. He should have stayed in the common room. 

Opening the door to the room he shared with Mingi and supposedly Jungkook, Yunho didn’t immediately process what he was seeing. By the time he did, it was too late to un-see it. Mingi was in his bed. He was fucking. A girl.

Yunho froze, his brain half a step behind his eyes. Clothes were scattered all across the floor in a line from the door to the bed where they were both naked. Mingi had his back to Yunho as he was stretched out over the girl, but even naked, Yunho would have recognized Mingi’s body anywhere. The girl, a Hufflepuff that Yunho might have remembered the name of if his vision wasn’t red and the blood wasn’t roaring in his ears, saw him first over Mingi’s shoulder.

She let out a shrieking giggle. “We have company–” then her voice broke off into a moan as Mingi fucked into her.

Yunho flinched. He wanted to turn around and leave but his feet felt frozen to the floor.

Mingi finally turned his head around. He stared in surprise as if Yunho was the last person he’d expected to see. Yunho didn’t know why. This was his room too.

“Oh hey, roomie.” Mingi’s words were slurred. He was definitely drunk. Not that Yunho had room to judge.

The girl poked Mingi in the side. “Hey, you want to go to my room?” she said in the kind of drunk whisper that thought it was quiet but wasn’t.

Mingi didn’t look away from Yunho. “No, sorry. Sorry. I think you should go.” He abruptly sat up and moved away from her.

The girl looked at him in disbelief. “Excuse me?”

Mingi looked down and didn’t say anything. Neither did Yunho. He was still in shock and he didn’t have the brain power right now to figure out why he was so shocked. And hurt.

After a supremely awkward silence, the girl jumped out of Mingi’s bed. She grabbed her scattered clothes and yanked them on, every movement tense with fury. She whipped around to point a finger at Mingi and say, “You’re an asshole,” before she stalked out of the room.

Yunho supposed she had a right to be angry. That really had been shitty behavior on Mingi’s part. But truthfully, Yunho really couldn’t care less about that right now. He was too busy being angry at Mingi himself.

Mingi grabbed a sheet to cover himself, looking oddly guilty. “Sorry, I thought you’d still be downstairs celebrating.”

What was that supposed to mean? He hadn’t wanted Yunho to find out?

“Glad you’re having a good time. Nothing wrong with that.” Yunho’s words sounded mechanical even to his own ears.

“Hey,” Mingi’s voice was quiet and oddly hesitant. “We never said we couldn’t see other people. It’s not like we’re together.”

“Sure,” Yunho gave him a fake smile. “Sometimes we fuck and we both know why. It’s a werewolf thing, not a personal thing. You’re free to have sex with whoever you want. I was just surprised is all.”

He jerkily stripped off his clothes down to his boxers. He smelled like beer and really should take a shower, but he just wanted to curl up into a ball right now. He climbed into his bed instead. “Anyway, I’m exhausted so goodnight. See you in the morning.”

He pulled the curtains of his fourposter bed closed a little harder than necessary and stared up at the bed canopy. A weird strained silence filled the room, then– 

Mingi jerked the curtains to Yunho’s fourposter open. “Look, I feel like things suddenly got weird between us.” He looked uncomfortable standing over Yunho’s bed, and he was twisting his big hands together as if he didn’t quite know what to do with them.

“Like you’re my best friend and I know we sometimes mess around and we’ve never really talked about it, because, well, you know, but if you think we should talk about it…” his rambling trailed off. Mingi shuffled his feet and he gave Yunho puppy eyes that could usually work miracles. 

“Sorry. I’m just really tired all of a sudden.” Yunho gave another tight smile. “Been a big day.”

“Yeah, okay,” Mingi said slowly. “I guess…congrats again for the game. You did a really good job.”

“Thanks.” Yunho coughed meaningfully. “Anyway, I’m going to hit the sack so goodnight.”

“Right, yeah.” Mingi scratched his head and nodded. He didn’t move. 

Yunho pulled the curtains closed again. Another silence fell. This one even more strained than the last. 

“Hey, Yunho,” Mingi said quietly through the curtains. “Can we talk in the morning?”

“I don’t know. With the hangover I’m going to have and having to get to class we’ll see if I’m even alive, haha. Anyway, goodnight.”

This time Mingi didn’t try to say anything. 


End file.
